The filmography of the actress Brenda Strong currently includes more than a hundred movies and TV shows. And, perhaps, the greatest success was brought to her by the role of Mary Alice Young in the series Desperate Housewives. For this role, Brenda Strong was even nominated for an Emmy. At the same time, not everyone knows that Strong is not only an actress, but also a yoga instructor that is quite popular in the USA.
The early years and early careers
Brenda Strong was born in 1960 in Portland (Oregon, USA). In 1978, she graduated from school, after which she entered the University of Arizona. A few years later, the future actress successfully graduated with a bachelor's degree in Music Theater. It is also known that in 1981 Brenda was one of the participants in the Miss America national beauty contest.
In 1984, she starred in Billy Kristal’s music video, “You Look Marvelous.” And a year later, in 1985, Brenda finally made her debut on TV - in one of the episodes of the multi-part medical drama St. Elswer.
After that, she had guest roles in such series as The Secret Agent McGyver, Matlock, and Dallas.
In 1988, Brenda starred in episode 16 of season 1 of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. And in 1989, she could be seen in episodic roles in three TV shows at once - Murphy Brown, Only Love and The Secrets of Father Dowling.
Creativity of the actress in the nineties and early 2000s
In 1991, Brenda Strong took part in the filming of the final five episodes of the second season of the famous series "Twin Peaks". Here she played the charming Miss Jones.
On the whole, for most of the nineties, Strong, as before, played mostly small (for one or two episodes) roles on TV. In particular, she appeared in such projects as "Relatives", "Silk Nets", "Third Planet from the Sun."
However, sometimes she still got more significant roles - for example, in the soap operas Us Five and Seinfeld, with whom Brenda collaborated in 1996 and 1997. In addition, from 1998 to 2000, she took part in seven episodes of the series "Sports Night", which tells about the everyday life of the creators of the popular sports show.
In the same period, Brenda Strong also worked in the cinema - you can watch her play in the melodrama "My Life" (1993), in the thriller "Ready for Everything" (1993), in the mystical film "Witchcraft" (1996). And, let’s say, in 1997 she appeared in a rather noticeable role (as captain Deladier) in the fantastic action movie Paul Verhoeven "Star Troopers".
At the beginning of the two thousandth Brenda Strong was involved in the series "Seventh Heaven." In total, from 2000 to 2002, her heroine (her name was Carmen Macul) appeared in 8 episodes. In the same period, she took part in projects such as "Ellie McBeal, " "Dawson's Creek, " "The Dowager's Love, " and "Body Parts."
It should also be mentioned that in 2002, Brenda starred in one of the films about the maniac Hannibal Lecter - "The Red Dragon" (directed by Brett Ratner).
Participation in Desperate Housewives
True fame came to Strong after the role of Mary Alice Young in the series from the American channel ABC "Desperate Housewives." Interestingly, another actress was originally supposed to play this role - Cheryl Lee. But at some point she was replaced by Strong.
The first episode of Desperate Housewives was aired in 2004, and the last one aired in 2012. The series became a hit not only in the USA, but also in other countries, and made the leading performers very famous (it should be noted that, in addition to Strong, stars such as Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria and Marcia Cross were shot here).
Basically, the plot of "Desperate Housewives" revolves around four women from the fictional American town of Fairview. In a satirical manner, various stories from the life of this town are told here (moreover, the story is conducted on behalf of Mary Alice Young - her voice sounds at the beginning and at the end of almost every series for all eight seasons).
As a result, this role brought Strong not only spectator love, but also a couple of nominations for the Emmy television prize.
Brenda Strong in recent years
From 2012 to 2014, Strong played such a character as Anne Ewing in the Dallas legal series, the sequel to the legendary television project of the eighties (the actress, as mentioned above, also participated in it). But the revived “Dallas” lasted only three seasons, after which it was closed due to low ratings.
In 2016, Brenda Strong first portrayed Liliane Luthor in the serial series Supergirl. At the moment, she has played this heroine in more than ten episodes of this series (and, by the way, it is not finished yet).
In the spring of 2018, Brenda Strong began to periodically appear in the teen drama series from Netflix "13 Reasons Why" in the role of Nora Walker. And in the third season (he started on August 23, 2019), Nora became a constant heroine.
It is also worth adding that in 2019 the actress made her debut as a director - she shot the short film "# 3 Normandy Lane". This debut was even honored by the San Diego GI Film Festival.
Other activity
In the USA, Brenda Strong has a certain reputation as a certified yoga instructor and fertility expert. In this capacity, Strong taught at the University of California Medical Center in Los Angeles, and also spoke at the TEDxWomen conference in Beverly Hills as one of the speakers on women's health. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine for her pioneering work on the beneficial effects of yoga on female fertility.
Plus Brenda Strong has recorded a series of videos designed to help women who want but cannot get pregnant.
